Ages Past: Before
by Elements of the Psyche
Summary: The prologue of the Ages Past series. Kaien and Aresk escape from the Azalean Empire as impending war looms over the people. Chapter 4: Kaien and Aresk find help in a possibly dangerous Pokemon.
1. The Beginning

Ages Past: Before

Last Day

Disclaimationer: I do not own Pokemon, or for that matter, anything affiliated with Pokemon. Nintendo/Game Freak owns everything affiliated with the Pokemon game and anime. However, I own the plot of this story, the unique character traits of the characters in this story, any original characters, etc. If this story bears any relation to any other stories or subjects that are not mentioned in this disclaimer, it is completely unintentional and accidental unless mentioned otherwise in the story. Characters in this fiction are purely fictional, and have not been influenced by any non-fictional character, be they living or dead.

Skip to the zeroes to skip this junk.

Eot: Ah, the beginning of what I expect to be a great series that will triumph over all else.

Simdow: Then again, you said that about Matchmak-

Eot: Shhh!

Simdow: Anyways, Ages Past is a series that Eot has been planning for a long time. But, we all know lazy, procrastinative Eot, and of course…

Eot: Back to the point please.

Simdow: Right. Well, Ages Past puts a whole new perspective on Pokemon, a perspective VERY rarely seen.

Eot: Yeah, in fact, it's mainly based on the Ecruteak War, which, of course, practically none of you have heard of. It's just my little theory of exactly what happened that caused the towers to burn down.

Simdow: Now, there are a few things you should know before we proceed to the story summary. This is the very first chapter, meaning no war yet. This is also set in a past world of Pokemon, meaning that the world map of Johto is a little off according to most of your maps. There will be a history/geography lesson in the middle of this chapter, explaining the division of empires and such. Now then,

Rating: Well, I'll let you decide.

OTHER Rating: Not really that much, but PG just to be safe. It really gets PG-13 around the war part. G for this chapter.

Genre: General, VERY General for this chapter, whatever that's supposed to mean.

Length: You know, I REALLY have to stop putting this in chapters, because I NEVER KNOW! I also have to stop using caps. I think about 20 chaps should be right.

Pairings: Nope, nada. There will be later, but not yet.

Mood: Again, very general. I don't know what on Enigami that's supposed to mean, but hey…

Background Music: Mmm…anything somewhat slow and calm.

Summary: Stories are passed from generation to generation, but one is lost in the ages. It is a story of a war, a war that changed the course of history itself. The story of the Ecruteak War will be reborn again as things are rejuvenated from Ages Past.

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There are those who speak of times long ago. They speak of times when Sky, Earth, and Sea were one, and the great Creator split the union into three separate entities, Ho-oh, Lugia, and Celebi. And when the great Creator departed, He left behind a remnant of his spirit, yet to be awakened in the creature that is Mew.

We do speak of times long ago, but not as much. To journey to ages past, and to relive the glory and destruction of the Ecruteak War: that is our quest. And of course, with every great event, with every catastrophic disaster, there is always a beginning. A bird of colorful plumage glides through the sky, and so it begins.

Gracefully, the bird flew across what the humans called Sunrise Crest. With eyes that shone with infinite wisdom and divinity, it scanned the valley that contained the city of Azalea, and spotted its target. It flew high enough not to be noticed by human eyes, and watched.

Aresk idly lay back on the grass, watching the sun slowly climb its way to the mountain ridge, chasing away the darkness of night. It was always nice not to have a single worry, not to have to go to school until the sun was above Sunrise Crest. This was also the last day. After this day, he would no longer have to do so much as even look at the schoolhouse.

Aresk fingered an Apricorn that he found one day. It was red, an odd color. He found it just south of the city he lived in. The city was small, in comparison to some of the larger commercial towns of Azalea, but Azalea City was the capital of the empire. It was a nice, quiet place, with small houses scattered along the valley. They were fully protected by sloping hills, a few mountains, and a vast forest. He considered himself to be very lucky to be able to find such a place, and manage to live comfortably after what had happened.

_Rain splattered on the ground in his mind. He could see hundreds or thousands of horsemen galloping down, and trailing behind them were their creatures of destruction. They called them Dragons, a strange name, but somehow fitting for such monstrous beasts. Dimly, he could see his father, warding them off with an axe, being skewered with a spear, and then trampled by the ceaseless charge of Rapidash. He could see his mother rush back into the house, telling him to run, to escape, while she looked for her daughter, who was left behind. When he looked back later, he found only a great flame burning in place of the village, and the Dragons firing…something…from their mouths. He heard only screams of death and agony, and the never-ending pounding of rain. The flames never stopped, and neither did he look away._

Aresk shook his head. What was past, was past, but still…they were barbarians, and absolutely ruthless. Those monsters that they called Dragons: perfect proof.

The sun was just shining over Sunrise Crest. These times were always the best to watch an amazing spectacle.

The first rays of dawn would just peek over the mountain's ridge. Then, everything seemed to hold still, except for the sky. It was said that these times were when the three divine guardians gathered at one spot and unified their powers to start a new day. Every cloud began moving away from the light, but there seemed to be an endless amount. Then, gold shines past the mountains and into the scattered trees, announcing its glorious return to the sky. When the sun finally climbed its way over Sunrise Crest, Aresk was already on his way to school. The bird watched the scenery another second, and flew off as well.

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Kaien Lerasun yawned behind the teacher's back. History never was his favorite subject, far from it! He never saw any real _point_ to it.

To make things worse, she had to give a lesson on the very last day of school, _after_ they had already had their graduation ceremony! It wasn't like anybody was actually paying attention.

Deciding that the teacher was going into one of her long, drawn out lessons again, Kaien pulled out a sheet of paper, and fingered his pencil thoughtfully. He began absentmindedly doodling on the paper, drawing whatever came to mind.

He was not exactly sure how much time had passed, but soon, he heard an impatient tapping noise just in front of his desk. He looked up to find the source being the teacher.

The teacher's brown eyes full of anger met his calm, strangely violet eyes. The teacher was flushed with anger, but asked calmly and sweetly, "Mr. Lerasun, can you explain to us the rise and fall of the Mahogany Empire?"

Kaien replied nonchalantly, "Certainly, professor."

Kaien stood up and took a deep breath.

"Long ago, the continent of Johto was divided into many regions, all in constant war with each other. The tribes of Mahogany seemed to be the most powerful, and gained rapid control of the land.

"The Mahogany tribes, led by Clan Leader Masuki, originated in the area west of the Ice Path. From there, their conquest split two ways.

"The majority of the armies marched to the west, quelling all fighting by means of pure military might. They continued to move westward, and conquered much of the land there. Their empire now stretched from the Great Sea to the Ice Path.

"The remainder of the armies marched eastward and into the Ice Path. However, historical records show that they very likely did not make it to the other side.

"Meanwhile, after some recuperation, the Mahogany armies went east, and then south into the Goldenrod Plains. However, a strange force prevented them from proceeding anywhere. They got lost very quickly, and lost many soldiers. By the time they reached Azalea Forest, their numbers had been halved. Furthermore, in the forest, they did not expect to meet another army. Because they had no experience in battling in the forest, they lost, and many warriors died.

"The rest of the army was driven out quickly by the tribes of the forest. Before they had ample time to recover, soldiers poured out of the forest in formations they had never seen before. They were caught completely off guard, and had no way of defending. Before long, the mighty Mahogany Empire was reduced to nothing but mere dust in the wind. What would soon follow would be the age of the Azalean Empire."

The teacher looked slightly irritated, "Alright then, can you tell us the rise of the Azalean Empire and our current crisis?"

Kaien sighed, "Very well."

"Bit by bit, the Mahogany Empire was being slowly whittled away at by the superior forces of Aeron and the Azaleans. The Azaleans passed the Goldenrod Plains without much difficulty, although they too lost numbers in that region. Then, they quickly defeated Masuki's army at what we now call the Wastelands at the north of the Goldenrod Plains.

"The Azaleans sent a small, but sufficient amount of troops to the west, where they narrowly conquered the Mahogans there. They then reached east. What followed is what we refer to as the Eternal War.

The Eternal War lasted for a full sixty-seven years, and was purely between the Azaleans and the last remaining city in the Mahogany Empire. The Azaleans were very surprised by the sheer cold of the area, and were rendered useless during the winter months. When seasons come and go, the tides would turn. There were many famous battles in the Eternal War, including the Battle of Mahogany Pass and the Battle of Deepfreeze.

Eventually, the Azaleans prevailed, and extinguished the last of the Mahogany Empire. With new resources from the Mahogans, they rested, and stopped their path of conquest. Unfortunately, it was at this time that a stray tribe from Blackthorn decided to attack the southwestern section of the Azalean Empire, namely New Bark. This happened very recently, about ten years ago.

It is fortunate that that tribe has been eliminated, and Blackthorn has signed a peace treaty with us. However, the mutual trust between both nations is now severed. War can break out at any moment. Our newest emperor may be able to stop war from occurring, but I wish not to discuss controversial political matters in class.

The teacher was clearly irritated by the end of his speech. The teacher snapped at him, not at all calmly, "Yes, yes, Kaien. As usual, you're perfectly correct."

Kaien thought he could hear a trace of the teacher mumbling as she walked back to the front, "Sometimes I don't know why I bother..."

The teacher walked back up to the front of the classroom and announced to the class, "Today, as you know, is the last day of school. Therefore, I am letting you all out early."

There was a resounding cheer throughout the classroom. "If," the teacher interrupted sharply, "one of you is able to answer this question. If the answer is incorrect, I am giving you no other chances."

There was a groan. Last day questions were never easy.

The teacher stood up and started the question, "Why did the Blackthorn tribe cross the mountain barrier?"

There was silence in the room. Everybody looked at Kaien for the answer, but even he had to think about that one. Historically, the Blackthorns never went outside their own little area. They knew about the outside world, but they didn't care. It was how they were raised. The philosophy of the Blackthorns was that "nobody will bother you as long as you don't bother them." Even after several attacks, they still believed that.

A single hand was raised. Kaien looked to see whom it was, and mentally groaned. Aresk was usually the class clown. He wasn't dumb, actually rather intelligent, but he has to make a joke out of everything. He always managed to get away with things, though, because of his handsomeness. Kaien was good friends with him, but he wished that he would be serious for once.

This time, however, his usual grinning face was set with a very determined look, and there was no hint betraying him. His body was rigid and attentive. He almost made Kaien think somebody had replaced him.

The teacher gave no sign of disproval or approval. "Yes, Aresk?"

"To show us that they are there." Kaien noted the strangeness of his voice. There was something wrong.

"They want us to know that they do exist, and that we should acknowledge them for once. They may be tired of being ignored. Their pacifism can only last so long before one tribe will finally rebel. That tribe, they want to be known. They want us to finally recognize them as a formidable adversary. That is why that tribe crossed the mountains."

Kaien knew now. The usual giddiness in his voice was replaced with a much more serious tone, that also had a hint of sadness in it.

The teacher shocked, was frozen in her place. She finally uttered, "But...how do you know that that is the right answer?"

Aresk sat as calmly as Kaien had before, "What you asked was an interpretive question, and I gave my interpretation. If another had said that they had crossed because they wanted a balloon, it would have been correct as well as long as it was supported with evidence. My evidence is that the Blackthorns spend all their time in the mountains, having to endure constant 'they are cowards.' One tribe will rebel."

The teacher finally stuttered, "V-Very well, then. Class dismissed."

Aresk walked out of the school, outwardly as happy as anybody else, but inwardly contemplating. He watched a few girls walk by, pointing at him and giggling. It was hard to tell whether they were attracted to him by his handsomeness or his silliness. Perhaps both. Perhaps they were making fun of him. It didn't really matter.

He stopped outside the front entrance, waiting for his friend to come. Finally, he saw him. Kaien was somewhat taller than the average student, but not nearly as tall as some other students he knew. His black hair was tidy and well arranged, except for the front, which hung out messily. Kaien was of average build, kind of like himself.

What was odd about Kaien, though, was his eye color. His mother had brown eyes, yet Kaien had violet eyes that were practically unheard of. Aresk waved his hands over his head, "Hey, Kaien!"

Kaien waited until he was closer before he said, "Hello, Aresk."

The two began walking downhill from the school. To where, neither had any clue, but it didn't really matter, being the last day of school and all.

"I think that's the first time I've ever heard you say anything semi-intelligent," joked Kaien, talking about Aresk's speech in class.

Aresk put on a face of mock shock, "I'm shocked, Kaien. How could you possibly consider my speech, so similar to your own, to be intelligent?"

Kaien punched him on the arm, "Hey!"

After some conversation, the two boys reached Azalea Forest.

"Azalea Forest. Well, we might as well go inside if we've already reached this far," suggested Aresk.

Kaien shrugged nonchalantly, "It's not like I've got anything better to do." This part of the forest was just as much a part of the city of Azalea as the city square. In fact, there were two or three people who lived there, Kaien included. However, there was one old man who lived in a hut that fell on the border of Azalea City and Azalea Forest, for at the beginning of Azalea Forest laid a river. Everybody considered him a hermit, of sorts, and children made up stories about him. Aresk and Kaien, both sixteen, believed nothing of the sort.

Of course, that was up until they met the man. The grizzled old man had one eye that bulged from its socket, and another that was half closed. He had an ugly hump on his back, and Aresk noticed with particular disgust that most of his teeth were either black or missing. Kaien backed away slightly, and Aresk was immediately reminded of all of those children's tales from so long ago.

The man spoke with a withered, but high-pitched voice, "Why, hello there, children. Where would your parents be?"

Aresk saw Kaien's hands slightly rise as if to cover his ears, but stopped. Aresk felt a pang of irritation at this man, for some reason or other. The man continued, "Well, I suppose your parents must have lost you in this forest to fend for yourselves, am I correct?"

Before either one could open their mouth to say no, the man started speaking again, "Well, it doesn't really matter. At least, back in my day, it didn't. I used to have a Pidgeot, you know, and Pidgeot could defend me against anything that came my way. We were great together, Pidgeot and Ramsicoot, partners to the end. At least, that's what I thought would be"

The man, Ramsicoot, continued talking while Aresk rolled his eyes. Kaien, always polite, especially when it came to old people, was gritting his teeth while still maintaining a "proper" face.

However, the man's lecture ("Oh, I despised all Arbok after that, even the one") was abruptly interrupted by a bleating noise. Kaien turned around immediately, "Beacon! What are you doing here?"

Aresk turned around as well to see a Flaafy rubbing its head on Kaien's legs. Beacon was Kaien's Flaafy. As far as Aresk knew, it was a gift from Kaien's uncle, who worked on a farm. Kaien crouched down and petted Beacon's fluffy wool while Beacon bleated again.

Ramsicoot's voice changed, "Hmm, is that Flaafy yours, my boy?"

Kaien looked up in surprise. Aresk was pretty sure he missed something here. Ramsicoot's voice had suddenly lost all of its shrillness, and instead turned into a tenor. His voice also lost that old, rambling quality.

Kaien replied, "Yes. This is Beacon. I got him for my fourteenth birthday, so I've had him for a couple of months now."

Ramsicoot nodded in approval, "You've been taking good care of him. He clearly likes you. I'm sorry that I may have appeared so eccentric to you at first, but it is the only way I can drive away troublesome kids."

Amazingly, in front of their very eyes, the man began to change his appearance. His eyes returned to normal, his back straightened, and his wrinkles lessened. He still looked old, but he no longer looked like some mad old hermit.

Ramsicoot spoke before either of them could utter a word, "It is something that I learned from my old master. He had amazing powers of illusion, and many powers that were anything but illusion, no matter how fantastic they looked."

He gestured to his own body, "This here is my true form, and what you saw earlier was an illusion. I often use that illusion to make everybody frightened of me so that nobody bothers me. If anybody knew of these powers, suffice to say I would have people all over my house trying to learn them."

Kaien stood up, "Then why are you telling us of this?"

The old man chuckled, "Because, my boy, you are very promising. You actually take care of and befriend your Pokemon. You regard them as partners instead of as pets or tools. Although a Pokemon who is regarded as a pet would be just as happy as your Beacon over there, you two obviously share a very strong bond, by the way your brainwaves are constantly surging towards each other."

Aresk looked from Beacon to Kaien, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. "How do you know about that? I can't see anything."

Ramsicoot suddenly had some beads of sweat on his head, "Um, don't mind that last part that I said. In any case, I think that you could do greatly if you went to my old master, unless you two wish to become soldiers in the army? Besides, it would count as training, since you would be training both yourself and your Pokemon. Now, I studied with Master Elus for thirty years, though I don't think you have that much time. However, you should be able to get in enough training in four or five years."

Kaien looked in deep thought while Aresk contemplated the situation for about a second. Aresk didn't care for joining the army, had no parents to keep him from doing otherwise, wanted to be able to train Pokemon anyways, wanted to go on a journey, and disliked the army's ways of doing things, which entirely contradicted his own drifter-like ways. Aresk agreed immediately.

Kaien looked at him oddly before going back into thought. Finally, Kaien agreed as well, mumbling that he would have to tell his mother about it. Ramsicoot looked pleased.

"Believe me," said Ramsicoot, grinning, "You won't regret it. Now, there is a little danger involved in journeying to the place."

Aresk felt like laughing, "Oh, we don't mind at all."

Ramsicoot continued, "Master Elus lives in the area north of the Goldenrod Plains. To get there, you must head west from Azalea Forest into the Ilex Forest. Then, you must head north into the Goldenrod Plains. After some trekking, you will reach your destination."

Aresk and Kaien thanked Ramsicoot, and walked in the direction of Kaien's house, with Beacon following. They arrived very soon, and Kaien knocked on the door. The door opened a hair, and Kaien could see a cautious brown eye looking out the crack. Then, suddenly, his mother opened the door quickly and pulled the two inside.

Aresk looked at the interior of Kaien's house. It was made entirely of wood, of course, and it was rather small. In other words, it looked almost exactly like any of the other houses in the town. There were pictures of Kaien with his mother and father hanging on the wall.

Kaien, meanwhile, was in the kitchen talking with his mother. She seemed distressed about something, and that could not be a good thing, since Kaien's mother isn't usually one to be distressed.

Soon, Kaien came back. Aresk asked him, "So, what's up?"

Kaien explained, "It's not good. The emperor has decreed that every male in the entire empire sixteen and up must join the army and be willing to fight in times of war. He says that he is planning on building the Azalean Empire into something that is to be feared by conquering all other empires. Unfortunately, the first he plans to conquer are the "barbaric Blackthorns", as he called them. Therefore, war is imminent, and we have no choice but to join the army. Furthermore, the army has very rigorous training, and only two out of every three survive."

Kaien's mother walked in as well, with a worried look on her usually soothing features, "Please, you two must go. If they find you, you will have to go and fight against the Blackthorns, the Dragon Masters, if you survived the army training. The emperor doesn't care for young lives lost. He only cares for power, and will do anything for it. Kaien, your father has already sacrificed his life in fighting them once. I cannot have you dying as well for the same cause."

Kaien immediately responded, "But I can't leave you alone here! What if the Blackthorns attack here? Then you'll be dead, and it'll all be my fault! I can't take that risk, Mother!"

Kaien's mother had an imploring tone in her voice now, "Please, Kaien, you must listen! I don't want to lose you. Please, just run!"

Aresk interrupted Kaien calmly, "We will go, Mrs. Lerasun."

Kaien yelled, "WHAT? You can't be serious, Aresk! Your entire hometown is at risk here! What of your parents, then? Aren't you worried they might suffer the same fate?"

Aresk replied calmly, "My hometown was attacked twelve years ago by the Blackthorns. My father is dead, my mother is presumably dead, just like my sister."

Kaien was silent. Aresk ignored the screams of anguish that echoed through the walls of his mind. He continued, "Besides, we would certainly die if we went into the war now. If we can get enough training from this Master Elus, then we can come back much more prepared than if we just rushed headlong into the fray now."

Mrs. Lerasun added, "I don't think the war will begin until three or four years later anyways. The two of you should just stay in hiding until then."

Kaien sighed, "I suppose that is logical."

Aresk grinned, "Of course it is. Now, I suppose we should get going as soon as possible. We might want to pack our things now and leave through the forest, so that they have less of a chance of seeing us."

Kaien nodded, "Good idea. Mother, can you help me pack my things?"

Kaien's mother smiled, "Of course. Anything that will help you."

Aresk turned to the door, "As for me, I'll have to revisit my home to get what I need. I just hope that none of the guards will see me."

Mrs. Lerasun exclaimed, "That's foolhardy! If they catch you, you'll be dispatched to the army for sure, if you're lucky! They might put you in jail for neglecting duty, or even execute you!"

Aresk simply said, "I'll be fine," and opened the door.

Before Aresk closed the door to Kaien's house, he heard Kaien say, "Be careful."

Aresk carefully peeked his head around the boulder to make sure that there was nobody there. He was as silent as he could get, although he let out a giddy giggle in his mind. It had been a long time before he could actually do something _exciting._

There were guards patrolling the entire city, searching every nook and cranny according to the emperor's orders in order to recruit new soldiers, whether they want to or not. Fortunately for him, they had forgotten the entrance from the forest.

And so, Aresk had made his way from Azalea Forest all the way around the western border of Azalea, and was extremely close to his home on the Haunted Hill. When the guards' backs were turned, he rushed into the old mud hut and shut the door tightly.

He had found this hut a while ago. Everybody thought it abandoned, and nobody dared go near it, since everybody thought it was haunted (a rumor in which Aresk was very proud of for creating).

He took as many clothes and food items as he could and fit them into his backpack. He also took some first aid equipment, in case they might need it. He peeked out a crack in the wall. There were no guards anywhere that he could see. Carefully, he opened the door. He turned to the right to meet the face of a heavyset guard.

_Yeah,_ he thought, _that's just great. Just when I thought the coast was clear._

The guard grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to two others. "See?" he said in a gruff voice. "I told you there was somebody there."

Aresk struggled to get free, but the guard holding him subdued both of his arms. One of the guards piped up, "Hey, I know this kid! That's Aresk, a big troublemaker! He also just graduated today, meaning he's eligible for the army!"

The gruff-sounding guard drawled, "Oh, really? Then, I think you'll be coming with me."

"And what if I don't?" Aresk shot back. Surprising both the guard and himself, he managed to break free of the guard's grip.

The guard growled, "Then you're a traitor to this empire. Arrest him!" The other two guards dashed towards Aresk. Aresk immediately began running. Without any armor, he was faster than the guards, but the backpack was starting to weigh him down. The guards were also calling for help.

Soon, he found himself with his back to a wall and facing five guards. The guards began to slowly advance, until something strange happened.

The ground beneath them began to shake. The guards looked around in confusion. Taking his chance, Aresk dashed off the right side of their line.

The guards, noticing this, ran to stop him, but were stopped by another vibration of the ground. This time, more severe, the quake knocked them off their feet.

Aresk kept running until he reached the same boulder he hid behind last time. When he looked back at the cliff wall, he could see five battered and bruised guards and one lone shape zooming towards him: Vicissa.

When the shape had caught up to him, he said, "Thanks, Vicissa," before the two of them rushed into the forest.

Although she was a Rock-type, Vicissa was extremely fast. Her jet-black body was curved in such a way that she could smoothly glide by letting the earth toss her. It was a complicated technique that only her kind could master. However, the technique takes a long time, and her reflexes were just as bad as any others', making her speed somewhat useless.

Vicissa's eyes communicated enough to Aresk. _What's going on?_

"We're leaving, Vicissa. We have to. Don't ask me why because I barely know the full situation myself, but we have to," Aresk said to her while running. He wasn't sure if Vicissa understood him or even heard him, but her eyes focused back on hat was in front of her. He supposed that was as much confirmation as he would get.

By the time they had reached Kaien's house again, Aresk would have thought it to be 5:00 already by the sun's position. Aresk knocked on the door, and the same process happened as the first time he had come this day.

When Aresk entered the door, he was greeted with warm welcomes and open arms. After the minor celebration was over, Aresk and Kaien began talking while Mrs. Lerasun started cooking.

"So how did you escape from the guards, anyway?" asked Kaien.

Aresk replied, "Well, I probably wouldn't have made it if it weren't for Vicissa here." He gestured towards the Pokemon that had followed him in.

Kaien's face was painted in confusion, "I didn't know you had a Pokemon. What is it?"

Aresk introduced Kaien to Vicissa and replied, "She's a Pupitar, or at least that's what we called them. I, or rather, my mother, found her as a baby Larvitar on the mountain north of New Bark. We were not sure where the mother was, but she never came looking for her. So, we nursed her and brought her up. She evolved into a Pupitar not too long ago when she was feeding."

"Dinner's ready!" said a voice from the kitchen. Kaien grinned, while Aresk looked slightly nervous.

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Aresk lay back in bed, trying to get to sleep. It was very generous of Kaien's mother to lend him her husband's former bed. He hadn't slept on a mattress for a very long time. In fact, he hadn't eaten a home-cooked meal in a long time either. Normally, he would eat whatever Vicissa had brought from her daily excursions in the mountains.

It was a pleasant change, from living by himself with a Pupitar that pretty much took care of him, to an actual family. It was unfortunate that the two of them would have to leave the next day at the first hour of morning, but it was good while it lasted.

Aresk turned over onto his side, and slowly, he drifted into a dreamless sleep, with a pair of eyes on a jet-black body watching him. She watched him until she too fell asleep.

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A flash of bright feathers in the night signified that not all was sleeping. The bird flew off into the town, and perched on the top of the Azalea Palace, and where the emperor lived. It could hear the conversation of the emperor and his wife in the room below.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this, dear? You could gain a bad reputation with the people."

"The people! Hah! What power do they have? What authority do they have over me? I am emperor! I am the supreme ruler and none can defy me!"

"They could lead a revolt, you know. I don't want you killed."

"Do you fear they'll revolt? You worry too much. They are cowards, every last one of them! That's why I have to force them to be in my army, because none would join otherwise!"

"But don't you have to make the army training so rigorous, do you? So many might die just from the training!"

"Then, let them! It will show the others that there is success, and there is failure. And it will show them that I do not tolerate failure!"

"And what of your strategy of world conquest? Don't you think it is a bit too ambitious? The others are not bothering us. Why should we go and conquer them?"

"Ah, my dear wife, you have your sights set too low. Rest assured, soon we will have the entire world in our hands, and nobody will stand against us!"

"If you say so, dear..."

The bird stayed perched until it heard the distinct sound of a lamp being blown out. It flew away, to the northwest, and into the dark sky decorated with glimmering stars.

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The stars provided light for the travelers at night, or so they say. Why, then, did they not give heat?

Mythridon shivered as he wrapped his cloak around himself. He cast a final hateful glare towards the Gathering Point, and decided to find some shelter. He sent out from his Pokeball a silver, armored bird by the name of Skarmory.

He climbed onto the steel-plated bird, and it gracefully flapped thrice and entered the sky. There was a long journey ahead of him, and he wasn't sure if he would make it.

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End Chapter One

Simdow: Well, I can only assume that took a longer time than expected.

Dronam: Easy come, easy go, as they say, or do they?

Simdow: You realize that that made no sense.

Ragnod: That was a pain to correct! Come on, Eot, you can do better than this. Sorry, I got tired halfway through. If you can spot any mistakes, please say so in your review.

Simdow: I'm open for any questions by the way, but I'm afraid certain information cannot be disclosed to the public quite yet.


	2. Apricorn's Power

Ages Past: Before

The Power of the Apricorn

Disclaimer: I do not own anything affiliated with Pokemon. All rights are reserved by Nintendo, GameFreak, and whatever company I forgot to mention.

Go to the zeroes to skip this junk again.

Chrysa: I'd like to point out that yes, I do know this chapter is very different from the first in style. This is mainly because the first chapter sets up the entire series, not just the prologue.

In any case,

Rating: I hope you give a good one.

OTHER Rating: This chapter is G. Unless, of course, you count forcing poor defenseless little creatures into airtight nuts as violence. Actually, you know...

Genre: Fantasy

Pairings: None

Mood: Kind of lighthearted, in a sense of trying to forget and move on.

Background Music: Light and breezy

Chapter Summary: It pretty much just explains the introduction of the Pokeball, and a few explanations that might be important later. MIGHT...

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Beacon tried to keep up with Kaien, but failed miserably. Suited more to wide, open areas, he stumbled awkwardly through most of their journey. His legs tripped over the growth, his wool was constantly caught by thorns and branches.

Overall, it wasn't a pleasant journey for the poor pink sheep.

_It is really too bad_, Kaien thought, _that a walk through such a peaceful place has to be constantly interrupted by sounds of tearing wool and bleats of help._

Indeed, the forest was peaceful, almost silent besides the rustling of the leaves in the towering trees. Light was just able to break through some seams in the pattern of treetops. They had never gone this deep into the forest until now, and it was truly magnificent.

Behind him, Kaien noted Vicissa gliding along the narrow, grassy path with ease. He often wondered how she managed that without being a Psychic-type. Her exterior shined like gloss as usual, and her body cruised forward without disturbance, except a twitch now and then.

Next to the cocoon was her companion, Aresk, who didn't seem to be paying attention to much of their surroundings. Instead, he tossed a strange nut up and caught it on its way down repeatedly. Kaien wasn't too sure where he got it, considering neither of them have ever left the village before. Perhaps he found it in his house, or he plucked one off of a tree earlier on.

Turning back around, he had just enough time to cry out before he tripped over a lump on the ground. His cry was quickly accompanied by bleats of protest. Vicissa and Aresk caught up to them, the former staring indifferently, the latter laughing his head off.

Kaien regained his footing and glared at him, "Shut up." It took Beacon quite a while longer before he could manage to get back onto his feet.

The four continued their trek through the woods, with Aresk fingering the nut and whistling, Vicissa silently gliding, Beacon stumbling repeatedly, and Kaien thinking of any way to make this trip easier.

"It would be so much easier if we had a Cutter," mumbled Kaien.

Aresk paused, "Wait, a Cutter?"

Kaien groaned, "Don't you ever pay attention in class, Aresk?"

Aresk crossed his arms, "Indulge me."

Kaien sighed as they continued walking, "There are nine known HTs, or Hidden Techniques. Certain Pokemon have HTs deep inside them, but cannot use the HT unless the power is first awakened.

"Certain mentors can awaken HTs. Mentor Argan in Azalea was one, but they are rare across the Empire. Cut is an HT that can easily chop down trees or other growth in the way of a traveler."

"But couldn't you just use _any _attack to do so?" Aresk asked.

"To a point, yes," explained Kaien. "But while others might spend a half hour to half a day trying to cut down a tree, the HT Cut can easily do so in a matter of seconds."

Aresk nodded, "I see."

Kaien was about to continue before he thought he heard a slight rustling to the left side of him. He held out a hand signaling the others to stop. Beacon, trying but failing, fell face-first into the grass instead. He cried in surprise.

The rustling stopped, but the silence was soon followed by a strange growl. This was accompanied by a large beetle bursting from the bushes, horns waving menacingly on its head, growling, "Siiiir..."

Kaien backed away slowly, mumbling, "Pinsir, the Stagbeetle Pokemon, will not heed you if you make no loud noises. Do not draw attention to yourself."

Aresk muttered equally softly from beside him, "You memorize this stuff?"

Everyone stood still, staring at the Pinsir nervously, except for Vicissa, who regarded it indifferently as usual. Kaien whispered slowly to Aresk, "Follow my lead, and don't make a sound. Don't make any sudden movements."

The two of them started heading away from the giant insect, and Vicissa soon followed. Beacon tried to tiptoe away as well, but didn't get very far before falling again.

That was the trigger. With clashing horns, Pinsir sprang.

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Aresk saw the danger and reacted immediately, although upon retrospect, he might have thought it a stupid and foolish idea. Taking aim, he hurled the Apricorn in his hand at the Pinsir.

What happened next was unexplainable.

The Pinsir, with a surprised grunt, disintegrated, leaving only little sparkles. These sparkles formed themselves into a beam and disappeared into the Apricorn.

The four stood still for a while, until Aresk hesitantly crept over and picked it up. It was warm, somehow, but there was no movement inside.

Kaien asked from behind him, "What...happened?"

Aresk turned around and shrugged, "I thought you would know. You're the smart one here."

"Are you kidding?" Kaien exclaimed. "I don't even know what that thing is, never mind what it does!"

"Maybe it's some sort of magical device that vanishes things?" suggested Aresk. He shrugged and studied it carefully. "In any case, I think it would be a good idea if we kept it for now. Who knows what other dangers we may face?"

Kaien nodded. "We might as well get going then."

With that, he hoisted Beacon onto his shoulders and looked up at him, "This way, you can't trip."

Beacon grinned sheepishly.

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And so, their journey continued uneventfully after that particular incident, with the most part of their trek through the woods being completely silent save the soft rustling of grass underneath the feet of the two humans.

Aresk spent the majority of his time scrutinizing the strange round object that had "vanished" the Pinsir earlier. Kaien finally decided to break the silence.

"So what is that thing?"

Aresk glanced at him, "I'm pretty sure we went through this."

Kaien shook his head, "No, I mean...You've had it for quite some time now. Where did you find it? Is there a name for it or something?"

"I found it in my hometown," said Aresk as he went back to studying the object. "We called them Apricorns, and they were mainly used as decoration, seeing as they tasted horrible and seemingly had no other use. I guess nobody thought to throw the thing at somebody."

"Your hometown?" questioned Kaien. "I've never seen anything of the sort around Azalea before."

Aresk looked surprised for a moment, as if suddenly realizing something, but then waved his hand dismissively, "They're there, alright. They're almost everywhere if you look. Most of the time, though, you have to climb up really high to get to them. They don't fall, either, which is odd. You have to pick them. What's really weird is how they disappear after the tree dies. It's almost as if their existence is connected to the life of the tree they originated from."

Kaien walked on in thought, "I see."

Aresk tossed up the "Apricorn" up again and caught it, "I'm still kind of shocked at discovering what this little thing can do."

Kaien had a sudden thought, "We could try to find out exactly what it does! That way, we can have a better clue on how to use them as defense!"

Aresk's eyes lit up, "I suppose these could make good weapons if they do what I think they do, but how would we test them?"

"Experimentation, of course. Trial and error would probably be the best way to go."

Aresk paused, "Trial and what?"

"Trial and error," explained Kaien, irritated, "is the process of experimentation in which one conducts several _trials_ and eliminates incorrect solutions to the problem at hand by constantly finding _errors_."

"Um...that'll work, right?"

"Yes," sighed Kaien. "You know, you would be relatively intelligent if only you would put more effort into it."

Aresk shrugged, "Eh, too much work."

Kaien proceeded with his plan, "All right then, we need a test subject. Perhaps it would be best to experiment on an animal first. There must be wildlife somewhere in this region."

"You can hear 'em, but you can't see 'em," remarked Aresk dryly.

Kaien groaned, "That's wonderful. Then, in that case, we might as well try it on a tree or..."

Aresk interrupted, "Wait! I see a Pidgey by the bush over there looking for food."

Kaien dropped his voice to a whisper, "Excellent. Now, try it on that."

Aresk shrugged, "Here goes nothing!" He threw the Apricorn at the bird ad waited expectantly.

Instead of seeing the bird disappear into a Apricorn again, they instead saw the Apricorn strike the Pidgey on the head, knocking it out temporarily. The Apricorn then splintered and caused a white ball of light to form where it was. The ball grew and shaped itself into a familiar object.

The light faded as the creature solidified. It stood in a ready position, as if it was expecting attack at any moment.

Kaien and Aresk stood in shock as the scene seemingly stood still. "What now?" asked Aresk, hushed.

Kaien replied in equally quiet tones, "It looks like it's waiting for something."

The two watched, completely still and silent as the Pidgey regained consciousness and flew away. The Pinsir immediately relaxed and growled, "Siiiir" disgustedly. It turned around and regarded Aresk with an accusatory glare.

As Aresk and Kaien stood under the gaze of the giant insect (Beacon had long dropped down from Kaien and hid behind Kaien's back), Vicissa calmly glided forward to it.

"Vicissa, what are you doing?" hissed Aresk. "Get back here!" Completely disregarding Aresk's order, Vicissa stopped in front of the Pinsir. She made a few growling sounds, and Pinsir responded with its own.

"What's happening?" Aresk asked in wonder.

Kaien responded, with equal amazement, "It looks like they're...conversing."

"Conversing?" Aresk tried to listen in for any sign of what Kaien said, but heard none. "How can you tell? It just seems like a bunch of random sounds to me."

Kaien seemed puzzled at this himself, "I don't know. It just seems...a little friendlier."

The two said no more as Vicissa and the Pinsir kept "talking" to each other. Finally, Pinsir turned and walked over to Aresk. Aresk backed away nervously, but Kaien held up a hand, "Wait. It doesn't seem hostile."

Aresk paused and turned, "How do you know these things?"

Kaien simply shrugged.

The Pinsir stopped in front of Aresk, and bowed down slightly, clicking its pincers together. Aresk stared, not really knowing what to do.

"It's a sign of trust," said Kaien. "Well, not really trust as much as acknowledgement of a leader, but the trust is still in there. I believe it is used primarily when the chief of a Pinsir tribe is decided. The normal response of the leader is bowing so that his pincers touch the top of the other's. For you, I think hands might be good enough."

Still unsure, Aresk hesitantly placed his hands on its pincers. Almost instantly, the pincers stopped clicking. Aresk removed his hands, and Pinsir rose.

There was a moment's pause before Aresk spoke at last, "I think we've just made ourselves a new friend. So I suppose it'll be following us?"

"He,"corrected Kaien.

"Huh?"

"He's a male Pinsir," Kaien repeated. "I'm not entirely sure if male Pinsirs have any different colorings than female ones, but a female Pinsir would not have left her young alone. And, if she didn't have young, she'd be looking for a mate."

Aresk thought a bit, "I see. So a female wouldn't have joined me at all."

"Correct. You would have had a most difficult time trying to persuade her."

"But how does that make this one any different?" Aresk asked. "Why would this Pinsir willingly leave his home and whatever friends or family he had to join two strangers from an entirely different race?"

Kaien was at a loss, "I...don't really know. I guess if you think about it, it doesn't really make that much sense, does it?"

Vicissa growled impatiently. Aresk looked up to see around what time it was. He looked away immediately when the sun almost blinded his eyes.

He turned to Kaien, "I think it's past noon already."

"That would explain why I've been feeling a bit hungry. I think we ought to look for some place to eat."

"We should be able to find some flat ground somewhere," Aresk said ashe ran to catch up with Vicissa, with Kaien, Beacon, and the new Pinsir not far behind.

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End Chapter Two

Chrysa: Before anybody makes a comment, I'd like to point out that most "mysteries" in this story will either be explained later, or explained in the Divine Ages, the first chapter of which I confidently expect to be done next year. Though you might as well go ahead an ask anyways, since it might be something that I completely overlooked, slightly changing the plot.

Simdow: Now, then, for the reviews...

Keleri:

Well, oddly, that's the closest to a compliment I've ever gotten.

One, you have to remember that they are in a completely different universe than we are in. The D. Realm explanation will be in Divine, which will be posted sometime or other, but you get what the Pokeball is now, right? Mythridon has a slightly different model. His people are pretty technologically advanced. As for the others, yeah, I need to word them better.

Ramsicoot...you'll find out who he is later. Some things might not make sense, but they eventually are explained at some point. This is either because I already planned it, or some reviewer complains and I have to worm my way around it.

Actually, they die during the rigorous training program, not after it. It's kind of like a Spartan environment, except maybe a little worse, and with pencil and paper. The emperor really isn't a nice guy.

Eh, Tyranitar is really too cheap for my tastes, but Pupitar ranks as pretty cool, mainly because it manages to use attacks impossible for its body (Crunch, Screech). Vicissa doesn't really count as an important Pokemon, anyways, and she doesn't evolve until...I dunno, war with Blackthorn? If I even get that far.

Hey, at least he's not quite as bad as some of the Roman emperors. They were just plain crazy.

Simdow: And that's it. That's the only review we have.

Chrysa: Well, one is good! It's an improvement over zero!


	3. Lurking in Shadows

Ages Past: Before

Lurking in Shadows

Disclaimer: I'm not getting any profit from this anyways, but I don't own Pokemon.

You know the deal. Skip to the zeroes for the story.

Chrysa: Whoa, I certainly hope there won't be a time gap like from chapter 1 to 2 for a loooooong time.

Ragnod: Hey, it gives me a good break.

Chrysa: Anyways…

Rating: I don't see a function anywhere that would allow you to…

OTHER Rating: K+ (stupid new policies) for slight spookiness and fantasy violence. You heard me…

Genre: Fantasy/Suspense

Pairings: Now, where did you get that idea?

Mood: Mysterious, dramatic, whatever.

Chapter Summary: As Kaien and Aresk continue their trek through Azalea Forest, they do not realize that they are being watched …

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He tried to remain as hidden as possible, though he had long since realized that the bushes to hide in were decreasing rapidly as he continued following the two humans.

It was odd. Normally, he and the others would perfectly understand the reason for any mission his master gave them. Why did he want these two? They certainly had no riches on them, and his master certainly didn't need any of their Pokemon.

Regardless, he had no choice. Besides, as long as his master is happy, he and the others get fed and treated well. He would not fail his mission.

The six of them were separate, but unified at the same time. They all shared one mind that bound them together into one identity. For this mission, though, he was given the important mission of shadowing their prey. At the signal, the other five would involuntarily rush from their places to him, and they would begin the ambush.

Until then, he followed, and waited for an opening…

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Aresk yawned at the same time that his stomach growled. Not a good combination.

It seemed that the number of bushes were starting to lessen. That was good, since there was no way they'd be able to sit down in that kind of growth, and Kaien _insisted_ that they sit down. Spoiled silly, he supposed. Either that or Kaien never went out very much. His skin was rather light.

Said light-skinned boy was behind him, trying to get a certain sheep to cooperate. Apparently, Beacon was frightened to death by what lurked behind him. When Kaien tried to get him off, Beacon only held on tighter.

"They make a fitting pair," Aresk chuckled to himself. Then he called out, "Frendar, why don't you get up here? I think you're scaring the poor Flaafy."

Frendar grunted in response and ran to catch up with him. Running seemed a bit unnatural to him, but as Kaien said, Pinsirs don't run, they ambush.

He had a dispute with Kaien on whether he should name it or not. While Aresk felt that they couldn't just go around calling it Pinsir all the time, Kaien said that it probably had a perfectly good name back at its society.

Aresk finally won when bringing up the fact that they wouldn't be able to pronounce it anyways.

Besides, Frendar seemed fine with the name. It was from an old textbook that his mother gave him once. She seemed obsessed with languages, especially obscure ones. Since he really didn't have much else to do, he studied and learned the language over the years.

Aresk looked behind him. Beacon was now staring nervously at what was in _front_ of him. He sighed and turned back to searching for a suitable place to rest. His eyes spotted a small clearing to the left of where they were. The bushes were rare, and the few trees still towered high enough to shelter the clearing from the sky.

"Hey, Kaien," Aresk called back. "I think I found a good place."

Moments later, they had settled themselves into the area and unpacked some food they brought with them. As the others happily munched on what little they had for lunch ("We ought to ration our food," said Kaien), Vicissa tilted herself to stare at the treetops instead.

Aresk noticed this, and asked, "What's up?"

Vicissa made no reply.

"She's probably just missing the sky," said Kaien. "We've been in the forest for awhile now."

He yawned, "Huh, I'm getting a bit drowsy."

"Just rest then," said Aresk. "It's a good time."

He started to turn to the others when he heard a familiar growl of, "Taaaaar." The next thing he knew, a blunt and heavy object tackled him from behind and consciousness escaped him.

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Vicissa knew that she would eventually face a problem like this. She took a final glance at her fallen friend, and pretended to collapse facedown onto the ground.

She immediately sensed something was wrong when she suddenly felt that she wanted to sleep. She began looking at the treetops, in hopes that the light might shake off the sleepiness. As she stared at the trees, she noticed something very peculiar: powder.

The light made the powder visible, and it sprinkled from the trees onto the small clearing. So it must have been the powder that caused the problem. And she had to defend Aresk from whatever might come in his vulnerable state. As for the others, well, she would try.

She lay still and silent, waiting for any sign of disturbance in the ground. Moments passed with no sign of movement. Then, she felt a slight tremor in the ground. She sprang up immediately.

A strange figure loomed over the other boy, Kaien. Gathering up her energy, she rocketed towards it. She felt flesh and bones hit her hard exterior soon after. Righting herself, she examined the figure now groaning in pain.

It looked slightly humanoid, though she wasn't quite sure if it was a human or not. It had markings all over its thin and frail-looking body. The strangest thing was that it held a spoon in one hand, and seemed to grasp it very firmly, even after the tackle.

The figure slowly got back up. Vicissa shot at it again, only to be stopped in midair! She struggled, but to no avail. She felt herself being lifted into the air. As she prepared herself for an attack, she suddenly dropped. She felt only minor pain at hitting the ground, thanks to her shell. It took only a few moments to regain an upright position and look around to see what happened. The Pinsir was awake.

The Pinsir—Frendar, was it?—had a grip on the humanoid's left hand. It attempted to break free, but Frendar's grip only tightened.

However, _something_ caused Frendar to suddenly cry out in pain and release the humanoid. A burst of spores then caused Frendar to drift into sleep again.

The humanoid took this time to try to reach Aresk. Vicissa tried to knock it down again, but six new creatures formed a blockade between the humanoid and her.

Five of the six looked like eggs with eyes, and the last one looked like a cracked open egg. Vicissa tried to leap over them, but the six jumped and formed a circle, entrapping her. They began releasing spores over her.

Just as Vicissa began feeling drowsy again, she saw that the humanoid had placed a hand on Aresk and both were glowing white. With a last burst of strength, she shot towards the humanoid with the eggs still on her.

The humanoid looked up in surprise and shifted its attention to the mass hurtling towards it. Aresk immediately stopped glowing, but the humanoid did not. It instinctively put its hands out to stop them. The last thing that Vicissa remembered was hearing Aresk yell out before all went black.

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Aresk groaned from the pain in his back. He looked up to see something that awakened his attention immediately. Vicissa was shooting towards him with some unrecognizable objects on her.

Aresk yelled out and immediately rolled away. He got to his feet quickly and just saw Vicissa collide with something that looked vaguely human before the two glowed white, merged into one and disappeared.

"Vicissa?" he called out. No reply, of course.

He looked around. Beacon, Kaien, and Frendar were still sleeping. The rations that Beacon was currently sleeping next to were undisturbed. Slowly, he tried to piece together what had happened.

They were sitting down to lunch. Vicissa was looking at the treetops. Kaien reported he felt sleepy. _Something_ tackled him in the back. He woke up and saw some weird white humanoid creature with its hands on him. Vicissa, with something on her, collided with the humanoid. They all disappeared.

Aresk groaned again. Maybe Kaien would make some sort of sense from this. He walked over and started shaking Kaien awake, trying to clear his own head all the while.

Finally, Kaien awoke with a cry, "Agh! Quit it, I'm awake!"

Aresk let go of the now slightly dizzy Kaien, "About time you woke up. Something serious has happened."

Kaien sat up, "What do you mean?"

At this time, Beacon and Frendar were waking as well, the former incredibly slowly, the latter almost instantly. Beacon looked around and let out a small yawn. Frendar looked around as well, and then fell into a state of deep concentration.

"Vicissa's gone."

"What?" Kaien stood up as quickly as he could, brushing off some grass off of himself. "Are you sure? Where could she have gone off to?"

Aresk told Kaien of the events he saw after he woke up. Kaien listened carefully, and asked him questions about those involved—their descriptions, actions, etc.

When Aresk finally finished, Kaien's eyes were wide. Aresk asked what was wrong.

"Everything is wrong," Kaien responded despondently. "What you saw was teleportation, at least I think it was. If it was, we may never see Vicissa again, depending on where the teleport destination was.

"As far as I know, only Psychics can use teleport, though I may be wrong in this matter. Psychics in this region are incredibly rare, so it wouldn't make much sense if one suddenly appeared just to teleport Vicissa away."

Aresk thought for a bit, "Wait. The thing had its hands on me first, so maybe it wasn't trying to teleport Vicissa, but instead…"

"…you," Kaien finished for him. "I suppose Vicissa was trying to protect you, and thus broke the Psychic's concentration. But that still leaves the question of motive. _Why_ would a Psychic appear out of nowhere and just randomly decide to teleport you somewhere? There has to be an incentive in there somewhere."

"So you're saying someone's out to get me? Gee, I feel special," Aresk remarked sardonically.

"Or somebody's out to get us," said Kaien. "It can't be the Emperor, though. He isn't so incompetent as to send out Psychics just to bring back two easily expendable troops. Besides, Psychics can't just teleport anywhere. There needs to be a strong thought that would lead them here. And I know the Emperor cannot be dumb enough to send out scouts to spy on us too."

"Well, you sure know a lot about teleportation," commented Aresk.

Kaien crossed his arms, "That's I because I study. We learned about teleportation in the fifth grade, Aresk."

"Anyways, what possibility does that leave if it's not the Empire?" Aresk asked.

"I…don't know," answered Kaien with a sigh. "Either it really was just a freak accident and a random Psychic accidentally teleported here, or there's somebody who wants us out of this forest and somewhere else. The latter seems much more likely. But if it indeed is that case, then who? Who would even know where we are, let alone deploy Psychics to take us out?"

Aresk thought about this, and was about to make a statement when Beacon rushed up to them. Flailing its short little arms wildly and bleating rapidly, he seemed to be trying to say something, although Aresk had no idea what it was.

"Interesting," Kaien muttered. "Aresk, Beacon has just learned from Frendar some more news of the teleportation incident."

"You can understand him?" asked Aresk incredulously.

"To an extent," replied Kaien. "I've raised him for quite a while now. After all, you've made the same connection with Vicissa, haven't you?"

Times when Vicissa somehow communicated to him the location of foods and dangerous areas suddenly rushed to Aresk's memory, and he was hit with a rush of sadness, "Yeah, I guess."

"So there you go. Anyways, Frendar woke up earlier than us, and woke up in the middle of a heated battle between Vicissa and some other creature—the humanoid, I assume. Vicissa was in a bit of trouble, but Frendar saved her. Then, these six creatures that looked like each other dropped down from the trees and sprayed him with something that made him fall asleep again. I am assuming that these six are the objects you saw on Vicissa as they tried to stop Vicissa so that the Psychic could proceed without difficulty.

"By that description of events, I've reasoned out that this has to be a coordinated plot. The six must have scattered the sleep substance over us to make us asleep, and the Psychic would then teleport you—or us—away. Somehow, though, Vicissa must have stayed awake and foiled their plans," Kaien finished.

Aresk raised an eyebrow, "You got all that from bleats!"

"And body language," said Kaien. "You know what this means, though, don't you?"

"We'll have to find her, right?" guessed Aresk. "But how? She could be on top of a mountain in Blackthorn for all we know!"

Kaien started packing up the items they left in the clearing, "Do you remember why we're on this journey in the first place? To find Master Elus. Elus may be able to divine where Vicissa is. For now though, we'll have to move quickly. As I said before, a Psychic needs a strong thought that connects the Psychic to the subject in order to teleport to that subject. Hopefully, the scout was teleported away with the Psychic, but if it wasn't, we'll have to keep moving in order to prevent the scout from successfully calling the Psychic to us again."

Kaien threw the bag of supplies to Aresk and called Beacon to climb onto his shoulders again. He began walking out of the clearing, and Aresk and Frendar followed.

"So we're on the run again, huh?" Aresk commented.

"I suppose. Hopefully, we'll find out who's behind this soon."

As Kaien walked on, Aresk paused for a moment to stare at the treetops.

"It's finally time I return the favor. I'm coming, Vicissa."

He ran to catch up with Kaien with determination in his heart.

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"You've _failed_!"

He cringed at his master's anger. He tried to show none of his fear though. His master punished fear over all else, and so he had learned to conquer fear. He was struggling though, and he could feel the same contained fear from Cia next to him. It had been such a long time since his master had displayed anger that the two of them were softening.

What rose above fear, though, was shame. Shame at not accomplishing a mission. He and Cia rarely failed at a mission that their master gave them.

"Well, at least you didn't come back empty-handed," remarked his master. He moved out of darkness to examine what they had brought back instead of the two humans.

She was quite impressive, both physically and mentally, for she alone figured out that the wave of sleep descending upon them was Sleep Powder. However even she wouldn't have stood a chance against Cia had that other one not interfered.

In any case, she certainly had a strong fighting will. Even when contained by Psychics, she fought to escape. That certainly impressed his master.

Good. If his master was impressed by what they brought back, punishment would lessen. And, he still had another plan in mind to escape punishment and win the favor of his master once more.

"Noan," his master called, "I want you to hypnotize this one. She would be an incredibly strong addition to our little group."

He was answered by a compliant, "Hyp!" as Noan went to work.

His master turned back to the two of them, "As for you two, I am severely disappointed in your failure. However, I am willing to give the two of you another chance if either of you can successfully bring the two to me. Seplen, you always have a plan in mind. Do you have one now?"

Trying to maintain calm, Seplen communicated that he did indeed have another plan, and broadcasted it so that both Cia and his master could hear.

As Seplen relayed his plan, his master's mouth twisted into a grin. When he finished, his master complimented him, "You are always supplied with a backup plan, aren't you? Very well, carry it out however you see fit. I expect that you will not fail this time." With that, his master dismissed them.

Seplen exited his master's chamber with relief. Cia had a similar expression of relief emanating from her. His plan would not fail, it cannot fail.

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End Chapter Three

Eot: Whoa! Two weeks. Didn't expect that, did ya?

Chrysa: Yeah, heh. There was actually supposed to be another conversation after Seplen's scene, but I decided to save it for another chapter, since that would give away a piece of the plot that I don't want to give away just yet.

Chrysa: No new reviews, so that's it! If all goes well, chapter four will be up by next week.

Ragnod: Boy, I wish QuickEdit would make up its mind on what it accepts and doesn't accept. Apparently, hyphens are okay now.


	4. A Dangerous Ally

Ages Past: Before

A Dangerous Ally

Disclaimer: Me no own Pokemon. Sheesh.

Skip to the zeroes to get to the story.

Chrysa: I don't know when this will be posted, but I hope it will be soon.

Eot: Then again, nobody really seems to have even _read_ the third chapter yet. No hits.

Chrysa: Or maybe we just don't check frequently enough…

Rating: Rate? How can you rate?

OTHER Rating: Again, K+ for fantasy violence.

Genre: Fantasy/Action

Pairings: Wha?

Mood: Tense, distrustful,

Chapter Summary: With another reason to find the mysterious Master Elus, Kaien and Aresk come across a Pokemon that might be able to help them. But can they trust it?

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They'd been trekking for quite a while now. The sun had probably sunk below the horizon a while ago, although the only hint they had was that the woods darkened drastically.

It was certainly strange how a place could change so much due to the flow of time. Azalea Forest, which always looked mystifying and beautiful under the sunlight, took on a different appearance in the night. It was still mystifying, really, but the darkness settled into every part of the forest, making it just visible, but not at all soothing.

Then again, Aresk seemed completely unaffected, so he probably just needed to get out and observe nature a bit more than he was used to.

Kaien could feel Beacon's stubby forelegs gripping tightly onto his shoulders, probably in fear of falling off and getting lost in these woods forever. Kaien sighed. Beacon never did feel too calm in an unknown area, less so in the darkness.

The woods were almost devoid of sound, except the crunching of leaves underneath their feet and the calls of the night creatures. It was a good thing that they had eaten dinner earlier. Aresk thought it might be a better idea to hunt for food while they still could, instead of relying on what they brought. However, the only one with any experience in hunting in these woods was Frendar. They'd have no chance of finding anything in this darkness. Besides, there wouldn't be much to hunt this late at night anyway, even with Frendar searching.

He turned to his right and barely made out the figure of Aresk in the darkness. Frendar was walking behind him, and neither of them was discomforted in the least bit by the darkness. However, Aresk's stance was different, less upright. His back almost slouched, but kept straight. He kept his head down, probably paying attention to where he was going only through his peripheral vision.

As Kaien turned back to face forward again, he wondered what Aresk was thinking. Strangely, when they first discovered Vicissa was gone, and teleported away by a Psychic at that, he didn't seem too concerned. Even when Kaien said that there may be a chance they would never find her again.

Either Aresk was incredibly deft at keeping in his emotions, or he really didn't care much for the loss of his dear friend. Kaien hoped it wasn't the latter.

His thoughts turned to the ambushers. It must have been a coordinated plot, and an impressive one at that. They would have managed to actually accomplish their goal had Vicissa not expected it. But what was their goal?

Aresk said that the Psychic was planning to teleport him first. Thus, they must have been after Aresk, but why? It is not as if anybody held something against him. He didn't have anything worth taking, either, except maybe the Apricorn that is now shattered.

Then again, it might have something to do with his history, with his background. Kaien always thought Aresk was just abandoned by his parents here, or they were involved in some freak accident. If Aresk really did come from a different place, it would explain how he got the Apricorn.

Kaien shook his head to clear it of all thoughts. His mind was often cluttered like that, and he usually had to clean it up from time to time.

As Kaien searched through the darkness for any hint of an exit to the forest, as he usually did, it suddenly occurred to him that the directions to their destination were extremely vague. All that the old Ramsicoot said was to continue through Azalea Forest to the Ilex Forest in the west. Kaien knew the general locations of the Ilex Forest and the Goldenrod Plains, but he had no idea what to look for.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. What if this was a trap? No, it seemed pointless to trap them. But then again, what if Ramsicoot and the attackers were linked somehow?

Just who is Ramsicoot, anyways? And if he had such powers, who in the world is Master Elus? He must have powers beyond belief if he had these powers that only certain Pokemon could tap into. Couldn't Ramsicoot just be some rambling, insane, old fool? No, then he wouldn't have those powers. What if he himself was going insane?

Kaien shook his head again. Sometime along this journey, he'd have to learn how to stop thinking.

Aresk suddenly stopped. Kaien followed suit and turned to him, "What's wrong?"

Aresk looked around, "Do you hear that?"

Kaien listened carefully, but he heard nothing but the hooting of Hoothoots and the cries of various insects. Then, his ears picked up a rustling in the bushes.

Frendar was already in a defensive stance, as if ready for combat, although that seemed unnecessary. Surely it was just some Pokemon or another running through the bushes. It was really nothing to—

His thoughts were cut short as a creature burst through the bushes.

Instinctively, Kaien shielded himself with his hands, until he realized that the creature wasn't going for him anyways. Bringing his hands down, he tried to discern the identity of the attacker.

What he saw was a surprise. Instead of one, there were six. Six attackers that looked almost exactly alike, all egg-like in shape. He could hear Frendar growling ferociously.

He suddenly understood why. He felt something being sprayed at him. Remembering Frendar's description of these attackers, he bent over and covered his nose and mouth, hoping the spray wouldn't affect him. Fortunately, it didn't.

Unfortunately, his sudden movement sent Beacon tumbling to the ground. He bleated, shook his head vigorously, and got onto his hind legs. Meanwhile, Frendar had already leaped to attack.

Kaien couldn't see what was happening, but in a matter of moments, Frendar had jumped back to his place beside Aresk, and the six were completely unharmed and in their original positions.

Kaien shouted, "Beacon, provide a little light, would you?"

Beacon bleated in compliance and started straining to channel his electrical energies to his tail to keep things light for a while. It was as much of a Flash as Kaien could possibly teach him, but it didn't last too long, and required a lot of energy.

Kaien could now see clearly what the six were. He didn't know whether to be shocked or amused upon finding the attackers to be eggs with eyes. One of them was even cracked open! These certainly were no species of Pokemon he had ever studied.

Regardless, with six of them, they might prove to be a formidable opponent, and they clearly were not thinking of running away.

"Aresk, tell Frendar to engage battle," Kaien commanded.

"Why?"

"Do you really think either of us can deal with them?" Kaien asked impatiently. "Besides, he looks ready to crush them already. I suppose he's not too pleased at being defeated by them so quickly."

Aresk looked at Frendar and shrugged, "Alright then, Frendar. Do what you must."

Frendar immediately leaped into battle, horns clashing. The six did nothing, but they all smirked simultaneously. When Frendar was almost upon them, the six separated into a circle and shot towards Frendar, binding the Pinsir.

With a grunt of surprise, Frendar landed awkwardly, set off balance by the six that bound him. He stumbled for a while, and then fell, straining to break free.

Meanwhile, the six had already embedded a seed onto the Pinsir's back. They then separated and jumped away from Frendar.

Frendar regained his stance quickly, and jumped again. The six smoothly dodged below him. The cracked one glowed white, sailed over the others, and hit Frendar in the back before promptly exploding. Somehow, it remained unscathed and rolled back to the others, still glowing.

It was at this time that the seed sprouted, and small vines dug into Frendar's back in the small area around the seed. The vines seemed to pulse, and the six glowed with a green aura for a small moment. The pulsing then dulled.

"Leech Seed," Kaien whispered. He had always wanted to see such foreign attacks for himself. But now was not the time to be in awe.

"Aresk," Kaien shouted again, "Frendar needs help! Unfortunately, the only strategy that Frendar knows is probably how to deal with its common prey and competitors. You've got to supplement the strategy."

"Me?" Aresk waved his arms frantically. "You don't expect me to make up a good battle plan, do you? Why can't you command him?"

"He trusts you!" Kaien replied. "He acknowledges you as his leader, so I hardly think that anything I say will have any effect on what he does."

Aresk turned to the battle, "I'll try. Frendar! Er…don't pursue it!"

Frendar apparently heard, as he switched to a defensive position instead, ready to counter any coming attack.

A few seconds passed with Frendar defending and the six waiting to poised to strike. Then, the vines' pulsing intensified, Frendar grunted in pain, and the green aura appeared again.

"No use," Aresk muttered. "That stupid seed will drain him. Kaien, what do you know about that seed?"

"From what I've read," Kaien explained, "Leech Seed cannot be removed until the origin has run out of energy. The seed will then die as well. However, the seed also drains energy from the target and transfers it to the origin. This, of course, is problematic."

"Sure is," Aresk grumbled. "Frendar, uh…"

Kaien sighed. The main reason why Aresk's combat strategy was so lacking was probably because he knew nothing about Pinsirs.

He turned back to the matter at hand. If Aresk couldn't make a proper strategy to deal with them, Kaien would have to. But what strategy can you use when you are outnumbered six to one?

"There must be a weak spot," Kaien said to himself, "But what? Think!"

He suddenly realized it. The six could not possibly have stuck to Frendar like that unless they either had suctions on them, or there was some force binding the six together, which they could make tighter at any given moment. Either way, Kaien thought that he may have figured out a way of defeating them.

He quickly dashed over to Aresk, who was still futilely trying to wear the six out somehow, and relayed his plan. Aresk listened intently and nodded. "Frendar, leap to attack them!"

Frendar looked back for a second, and then grunted, "Sir," before attacking. The six smirked again and prepared.

_This is it_, thought Kaien. _The timing is all that matters._ When Frendar neared the peak of his jump, Kaien ordered Beacon to stop energizing the light.

The command didn't register immediately, but Beacon cut off the flow of electricity to his tail, and the woods immediately darkened. Everything went black as Kaien's eyes tried to adjust to the change of light.

Kaien could hear Aresk's shout of, "Frendar, try to flip yourself over!"

There was then a doubtful, "Sir?" followed by a strained, "Piiin…sir!"

"Alright, Beacon," Kaien called. "Try your best to get that light going again."

A bleat of protest answered this. Regardless, the forest was illuminated again. Kaien examined the scene before him with satisfaction.

Frendar was on its feet, slightly dizzy, but with no major injuries thanks to its hard exoskeleton. The six were now bunched together from a miscalculated attempt at binding Frendar. As Kaien had expected, they gathered with such speed that they had hurt themselves in the process.

Aresk gave the last command, "Frendar, grab one of them with your Vicegrip!"

Shaking off the dizziness, Frendar leapt into action again. The eggs tried to separate and get into formation again, but they were too slow. Frendar easily caught one of them with its horns. Raising it up victoriously, Kaien noticed that the other five oddly followed it upwards.

Apparently, the six were bound naturally, and could separate only by using some force, most likely the same force they used to bind Frendar tighter. Kaien had just realized how cunning and intelligent these Pokemon were, or was it this Pokemon? He supposed they could be considered one entity.

"I _really_ have to stop thinking," said Kaien to himself as he shook his head again.

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It was certainly a difficult situation, but then again, he half expected that he would wind up in a situation similar to this. His six pairs of eyes adjusted to the dim light, not that it would help much now.

One of his parts was caught in a very tight grip, and he couldn't gather up the energy needed to separate the other parts. However, the situation didn't anger him at all. In fact, it actually amused him quite a bit.

Seplen was originally planning to give them a good fight, and then "accidentally" make a mistake that would cost him the battle. He never expected that those two humans would actually manage to outsmart him!

Then again, it was really only that purple-eyed one that came up with the strategy. The brown-eyed one was only necessary to command the Pinsir, who didn't seem too intelligent either. Really, if they had taken Purple-Eye instead of that rock, they probably wouldn't have lasted very long before he decided to give them the victory.

He started to feel the grip tighten, and thought that he had better act quickly before part of him gets crushed, which wouldn't be very pleasant.

Summoning up what little psychic energy he could muster with the pain, Seplen tried to communicate with the two humans. He suddenly realized a major flaw in his plan. The only human he had ever communicated with was his master, and he didn't even know if his master was human. Or, perhaps he had some kind of power that picked up telepathic signals incredibly easily.

If he couldn't communicate with these humans, not only would his plan fail, but he might also experience a less than graceful end at the hands of this Pinsir. Luckily, though, his word got through to Purple-Eye: _Wait!_

Telepathy was an interesting thing. He wasn't quite sure how it worked, since you didn't need to know any language at all in order to get the message across. He suspected that the message sent was interpreted by the recipient's brain and translated into their native language. However, he still didn't know exactly _how_ that managed to work.

However, it seemed that his message was getting across to them. _Let me go._

Brown-Eye was still looking around for the voice, the idiot. Purple-Eye, however, was staring straight at him, "Why should we?"

Now, the human language for him was far too easy to understand. The language was so basic, using simple phonetic syllables to convey a message, nothing like the subtle transmission of emotions in the universal Pokemon language. After working with his master for a couple of years, he had grasped the basics of what was considered to be the universal human language.

Seplen sent out another message, _I have information that you might need. I have the location of your dear friend. Know that if you are to kill me, you will search aimlessly and endlessly. We like moving. Furthermore, she may not still be alive when you find her._ That last part was a little extreme, but it must have worked, judging by the panic on Brown-Eye's face.

"Come on, Kaien," said the brown-eyed one, "We may not have as good of a chance as this. Besides, by the time we get to Master Elus, Vicissa may already be gone, or worse, dead."

"I don't trust him," said the purple-eyed one. Kaien, was it? "He'll simply lead us into a trap. Think about it, he has every opportunity to call for help in the middle of the night, rendering us helpless. They'll have accomplished their goal quite easily, wouldn't you agree?"

Ah, so Kaien was a cautious one as well, always contemplating everything. It was quite a shame that he had to be the subject of his mission, or else this Kaien may have proved to be a formidable ally.

_I will not mislead you,_ Seplen sent. _I have no reason to. I will not purposefully leave your side until you reach your friend._

Kaien walked over to him. In truth, he hoped that this would be over quickly. Although he shielded it, he had a very low tolerance for physical pain.

Kaien bent down slightly and their eyes met. Seplen suddenly felt a chill run through all six eggs. He didn't pay much attention to Kaien's eyes during the battle, except noticing that they were purple, which was quite odd.

However, he now saw that there was more to it than that. Kaien's eyes were searching and analytical. So much like his master's, he could probably identify the best concealed of lies.

Kaien conceded reluctantly, "I don't think he is—or they are—lying, although I'm not too sure."

It's really a good thing that he had dodged telling a lie. True, he would not part with them until he led them to their friend, where they'd befall a most dangerous trap. It was also good that he avoided the question of calling for help. That was another thing that he could do to speed up the process a bit.

"I suppose we don't really have much choice, do we?" sighed Kaien. He turned to Seplen again, "Okay, we'll trust you, but you'd better not go back on your word or try anything suspicious."

_It shall not be so_, he sent. _Now, I cannot guide you very well if I am in the grasp of this Pinsir, can I?_ The pain was beginning to get a little unbearable.

Brown-Eye walked over to the Pinsir and said, "You can release him now."

The Pinsir clearly disagreed, as it grunted with disapproval. "We have no other choice," Brown-Eye explained.

The Pinsir growled, and then practically threw the egg it was holding onto the ground. Seplen was barely able to avert any major injury by using a bit of Psychic energy as a buffer. Clearly, this Pinsir did not forget losses quickly.

"Can you keep watch over him, Aresk?" Kaien asked Brown-Eye. "It may be easier that way, since I am not too certain whether Frendar will listen to me at all in combat, and I would rather not find out when the eggs are about to escape."

Brown-Eye, or Aresk, put a hand on the Pinsir's shoulder, "If it pleases you any, you can keep him prisoner at least."

The Pinsir grunted a satisfied, "Sir!"

Aresk then yawned, "Ah, I'm a bit sleepy now."

Kaien agreed, "Yes, we ought to find somewhere that we can sleep comfortably."

Such simple-minded creatures these humans were! If they were already thinking of sleep after inviting a potentially dangerous ally to join them, this mission could have been made much easier. Unfortunately, no matter what rewards this mission brings, his honor ties him to his words. Besides, any calls for help would be futile, as they'd be keeping a watchful eye over him anyways, and he had to be suspicious of that Kaien.

Surprisingly, Seplen found himself growing drowsy as well, as an egg already closed its eyes and began resting. The battle must have worn him out more than he thought it had. It would be wiser to think about his plan tomorrow.

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End Chapter 4

Eot: One week! If this keeps up, Chapter 5 will be up in half a week!

Chrysa: And the actual likelihood of that?

Eot: Two to the power of one thousand four hundred seventy-two to one against.

Chrysa: I thought so. Again, no new reviews, (In fact, no readers period for Chapter 3.) so that's it!


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